Mansfield Park

A friend recently invited me to read Mansfield Park with her and I took her up on it. I had previously read it and very much enjoyed it. From the few Jane Austen novels I had read, I has always loved Mansfield Park the most, because I really enjoyed the characters. I remember especially liking Pride and Prejudice as well, but I felt that Austen had created very real characters in Mansfield Park. There were no stupid characters as Mary or Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice in Mansfield Park. Those were my impressions then, and remain my impressions upon a rereading. I enjoyed each of the characters and how they moved through life. The only stagnant character is Mrs. Bertram, the only truly dislikable person, Mrs. Norris, but they still feel more real to me, perhaps because I see parts of myself in them.

Apparently, when you find Truth, it begins to turn up in every area of life if you are open to seeing it. Ever since giving my speech (see my post "Active Love"), I continue to see the impact of actions and people such as Fanny. Fanny's placement at Mansfield Park is intended to be a charity to her family and to Fanny herself, but her presence ends up improving everyone. Not only is Fanny the heroine of the novel, she also ends up being confirmed in her judgement of many, including Mr. and Miss Crawford as well as her own cousins. She holds to her principles, even when others do not understand how she is being asked to compromise them as when her uncle urges her to accept Mr. Crawford.

Fanny's simplicity, principle, and abundance of feeling is in her favor and everyone else's. It is what starts to change Mr. Crawford. It is what she is praiseworthy. While she is complimented for her beauty, it is her manner, her natural ability to know what it proper, her giving herself to whatever is good that distinguishes her. Perhaps one could argue that Fanny has too low an opinion of herself. Perhaps that is true, but is genuine and not born of pride. She sees no reason she should be distinguished, something markedly different from every other female of the novel.

There are some wonderful insights as well as concern the raising of children, the importance of religion, the effect of gossip on people. Sir Thomas reflects near the end of the book on the fate of his two daughters who both fell despite their good education. Sir Thomas' sternness was meant to counteract Mrs. Norris' indulgence to the daughters, but he reflects that instead his daughters merely learned to repress their feelings around him so that he would know none of their thoughts.

Bitterly did he deplore a deficiency which now he could scarcely comprehend to have been possible. Wretchedly did he feel, that with all the cost and care of an anxious and expensive education, he had brought up his daughters, without their understanding their first duties, or his being acquainted with their character and temper. (Chapter 48)

While Fanny is never overtly portrayed as religious, indeed outside of a couple visits to church, and Edmund's future as a parson there is not much mention of church or religion, yet there are a couple lines that suggest that Fanny put her faith into practice as opposed to her cousins, Maria and Julia. "They [Maria and Julia] had been instructed theoretically in their religion, but never required to bring it into daily practice." Edmund's sensibilities and Fanny's manner do not come simply from their natural inclination. Fanny's humility and desire to think the best of others stands in contrast to the liberality of Henry Crawford, Tom Bertram, and Maria, and the destructive gossip of Mrs. Norris and Mary Crawford.

Fanny is perhaps the character we can relate to the least, because we do not think we can attain to her example, but her example is still compelling because it proves that everyone can change. By the end of the novel her uncle has aquired more tenderness in his approach, the sources of destructive gossip are removed from Mansfield Park, and Fanny and Edmund settle into a mutual simplicity and love for each other. Not all the change, such as Tom's change of heart, can be attributed to Fanny, but it is abundantly clear that a great change comes to all at Mansfield Park.

There is much more that could be said, for example, about the redemptive role suffering plays in many of the characters' lives, but I shall simply echo my history teacher by saying that this is not just a book for women who like reading romances. Faith played an important role in Jane Austen's own life. Her stories are not simply for people who enjoy romantic movies, but they contain a powerful message that we need to hear.